System and method for selling advertising space on electronic billboards over the Internet

ABSTRACT

Electronic billboards, which may be indoor or outdoor are located in various geographical areas. Associated with each billboard is a web address. A client desiring to display information, such as an advertisement, on any selected electronic billboard can upload the information over the Internet to the server implementing the billboard website. The client can select the time and duration for the information to be displayed, and can even purchase the display time using a credit card or through the use of some other type of account.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present Application claims priority to both of the following U.S.provisional Patent Applications:

Ser. No. 60/130,602, filed Apr. 22, 1999, entitled “System and Methodfor Selling Advertising Space on Electronic Billboards over theInternet”; and

Ser. No. 60/147,673, filed Aug. 6, 1999, entitled “System and Method forSelling Advertising Space on Electronic Billboards over the Internet.”

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates in general to computer networks, and inparticular, to performing e-commerce transactions over the Internet.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Electronic billboards are poised to transform the billboard industry bypermitting multiple ads to be displayed on an electronic billboard atany desired time and frequency. Moreover, the transportation of the adsto a particular billboard can be made using any type of electronicmeans, including wireless transmission.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention permits a user to access the billboard provider'swebsite to order and upload a desired ad to a particular billboardanywhere within the world.

More specifically, an advertiser can upload advertising data to a serveroperating a particular billboard via a remote computer. Once approvedfor content, the advertising data can then be transmitted to thebillboard for display at a time and duration selected by the advertiser.

The billboard to display the advertising information can be locatedindoors or outdoors.

Though the present invention is described with respect to the display ofadvertisements, any information, including video and still images can beuploaded and displayed on the indoor or outdoor billboards in accordancewith the present invention.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present invention in order that the detaileddescription of the invention that follows may be better understood.Additional features and advantages of the invention will be describedhereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of billboard locations within thecontinental United States;

FIG. 2 illustrates an electronic billboard;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart configured in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a process for enabling a viewer of a billboard toreceive other information about products advertised on that particularbillboard; and

FIG. 5 illustrates an architecture for transmitting data to and fromvarious billboards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, itwill be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without such specific details. In other instances,well-known circuits have been shown in block diagram form in order notto obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. For the mostpart, details concerning timing considerations and the like have beenomitted in as much as such details are not necessary to obtain acomplete understanding of the present invention and are within theskills of persons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.

Refer now to the drawings wherein depicted elements are not necessarilyshown to scale and wherein like or similar elements are designated bythe same reference numeral through the several views.

Outdoor billboards are located throughout the United States and evenworldwide. Traditionally, billboards have been of the paper/poster type,where the ad on the billboard must be manually changed on a periodicbasis using one or more workers. As a result, for a definitive period oftime, usually one month or longer, only a single ad can be displayed onany particular billboard.

Indoor billboards are also gaining a foothold by displaying on theinside walls, or other locations, information about products and specialsales within the store. Again, the problem with such traditional postersand indoor billboards is that they must be manually changed, thuslimiting their versatility and effectiveness.

Electronic billboards, such as the ones illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B,have the capability of displaying still or video images in a mannersimilar to a television or a computer display. FIG. 2A illustrates anoutdoor billboard 201 having an electronic display 200 configured inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2Billustrates an indoor electronic billboard 203 for displayingadvertising information, or any other information, on a wall 202 of theinside of the store. A processor and memory device, along with driverelectronics and software are located at the electronic billboard site.The images to be displayed can be stored within the memory, and then aredisplayed in a desired manner using software. For example, a multitudeof different ads can be displayed at different and preselectedfrequencies and durations of time. The ads can be uploaded to thebillboard system through a direct connection locally, or remotely usinglandlines, cable, satellite signaling, fiber optic cable, wirelesstransmissions, etc. As a result, a central location can upload variousads to various billboards located across the United States (FIG. 1illustrates an example of electronic billboards, noted by X's,throughout the United States), or even worldwide. Alternatively, any oneor more of the billboards noted by the exemplary locations on FIG. 1could be indoor billboards as described above.

The further advantage of the present invention is that it permits aclient who wishes to purchase ad space on-a particular electronicbillboard to do so completely, or almost completely, without theintervention by the billboard provider.

Alternatively, a company utilizing indoor, or outdoor, billboards atstore locations in various geographic areas, could upload any desiredinformation to any selected billboard remotely. For example, if aparticular company decided to run a Labor Day sale, it could merelyupload an ad describing such sale to selected billboards at selectedstores throughout the world.

Referring to FIG. 3, a client who wishes to display their ad on aparticular billboard somewhere within the world will log on to anetwork, such as the Internet or the Internet 2, and visit the websiteoperated by the billboard provider. In step 302, the client may view amap of the United States, any other country, or even the entire worldwith indications where the billboard provider's electronic billboardsare located. Using a zoom feature, the client may zoom in on aparticular location, such as New York City, to pinpoint the location ofthe electronic billboard, down to the precise city block. Furthermore,the client may view a photo of the billboard showing the billboardheight, width, the direction the billboard is facing, etc.Alternatively, even an image of an indoor billboard can be displayed tothe client.

In step 303, the client will select a billboard. In step 304, a list ofopen times and their durations available for ad space at the selectedbillboard is provided to the client. The client, in step 305, can thenselect an available time slot and duration. Upon selection of theavailable time slot and duration, the cost for the ad space may beprovided to the client in those instances where a fee is applicable.Such ad fee may be dependent on several factors, including the time ofday during which the ad will be displayed.

In step 306, the client will purchase the desired amount of time (ifapplicable). Such a purchase could be made with a credit card, or theclients may already have an account set up with the billboard provider.Alternatively, a password could be required to be entered before beingable to upload any software to the billboard.

In step 307, the client proceeds to prepare their own ad (or otherinformation to be displayed) for display. As an alternative, the clientmay already have an ad, which the client may upload to the billboardprovider. If the client needs to prepare an ad, it may do so usingprepackaged software, such as PowerPoint™, or a software package may bedownloaded from the billboard provider, which enables the client tocreate an ad. Once the ad is created, then the client may upload thecreated ad to a central location for approval by the billboard providerin step 308. It is contemplated that such an approval will be requiredso that the billboard provider can ensure that the displayed ad conformsto the local laws where the billboard is located. Nevertheless, certainpre-approved clients may be able to skip step 308 and upload their addirectly to the billboard system.

In step 309, once approved, the ad is scheduled by the billboardprovider for download to the selected billboard system for display atthe desired time and duration. Furthermore, a software key may be usedby the billboard provider to ensure that only their own securetransmissions are sent to the billboards.

Referring to FIG. 4, electronic billboards, such as electronic billboard401 can be located anywhere within the world. In addition, eachbillboard may have its own website associated with it, wherein thewebsite will be supported by server 405. Server 405 will maintain theweb page for billboard 401, and will be accessible by a user over theInternet 403 by going to www.billboard401.com. In the process describedabove with respect to FIG. 3, an option may be given to the advertiserto provide further information regarding the ad to be displayed onbillboard 401. Such additional information may include details about theproduct advertised, links to other web sites, etc. If the advertiseruploads such information, the ebillboard.net server 402 will thensubsequently download that information to billboard 401.com.Subsequently, when an individual views that particular advertisement onbillboard 401, somewhere on billboard 401 there will be a message thatfurther information regarding products shown on the billboard 401 can befound at billboard401.com. This message could be displayed by theelectronic billboard, or could merely be printed on the border ofbillboard 401. Then, when the person gets to their computer 404, andthey access billboard 401.com, they will be able to view the additionalinformation provided by the advertiser. The foregoing will be performedfor each individual billboard throughout the entire world, wherein eachsuch billboard will have its own web page.

Each billboard could also broadcast, on particular wireless frequenciesto passers by, information about the billboard or its ads, in a mannersimilar to the way airport information is broadcast to car radios whencars near an airport.

Referring to FIG. 5, one of the issues regarding implementation ofelectronic billboards is the transmission of the data to and from thebillboards in a wireless mode. Although cellular, satellite, fiber andcable technologies can perform this function, another viabletransmission medium is radio frequency (RF) waves. By using voice mobilechannels, for example, which cover distances up to 15 miles, the systemwould be able to digitally repeat data messages for other data links andat the same time provide data input/output services at a node(billboard). A path could include up to several repeaters. As a result,the system could easily cover 120-150 miles from a source location,which is connected by telephone, cellular modem, satellite, etc. to acentral control center. Such a central control center 501 may house theebillboard.net server 402. The link to the main link 502 in one city(e.g., Los Angeles) could be made by any type of telecommunicationsmeans, as described above. Likewise, the connection between controlcenter 501 and the main link 506 (e.g., New York) could also be made byany type of telecommunications link. Each main link will then have awireless connection to a first repeater node 503, 507, which are thenconnected by a wireless connection to the next repeater node 504, 508,which could then be coupled to the next repeater node 505, 509 byanother wireless connection. Each of these nodes involves a wirelessrepeater, and may be located at the various billboard sites within theparticular locale. As a result, a main link can communicate with all thebillboards within an area by wireless RF communications.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

1.-26. (canceled)
 27. A method for displaying information on anelectronic display, comprising the steps of: receiving over a network,information and a designation of a target display; and sending the firstinformation over the Internet to the designated target display, whereinthe information is accompanied with a time when the information is to bedisplayed on the designated target display.
 28. A method for displayinginformation on an electronic display, comprising the steps of: receivingover a network, information and a designation of a target display; andsending the information over a second network to the designated targetdisplay, wherein the information is accompanied with a time when theinformation is to be displayed on the designated target display, whereinthe first and second networks are part of the Internet.
 29. A method fordisplaying information on an electronic display, comprising the stepsof: receiving, over a first network, first information and a designationof a first target display; and sending the first information over asecond network to the first designated target display, wherein the firstinformation is accompanied with a time when the first information is tobe displayed on the first designated target display, wherein the firstdesignated target display is selected from one of a plurality of targetdisplays to which the first information could be designated, and whereinthe first and second networks are part of the Internet.
 30. The methodas recited in claim 29, further comprising the steps of: receiving, overthe first network, second information and a designation of a secondtarget display; and sending the second information over the secondnetwork to the second designated target display.
 31. The method asrecited in claim 29, wherein the receiving step the first information isaccompanied with a designation of a second target display, and furthercomprising the step of sending the first information over the secondnetwork to the second designated target display.
 32. A method foruploading content to an electronic display, comprising the steps of:receiving content; receiving a designation of a target display device todisplay the content; and receiving a designation of a time that thetarget display device is to display the content, wherein the secondreceiving step further comprises the steps of: outputting information onwhether the target display device is available to display the content;permitting a selection of the target display device if it is availableto display the content; and preventing a selection of the target displaydevice if it is not available to display the content.
 33. A method foruploading content to an electronic display, comprising the steps of:receiving content; receiving a designation of a target display device todisplay the content; and receiving a designation of a time that thetarget display device is to display the content, wherein the thirdreceiving step further comprises the steps of: outputting information ondate and time availability of the target display device to display thecontent; permitting a selection of the target display device at aselected date and time if the target display device is available todisplay the content at the selected date and time; and preventing aselection of the target display device at the selected date and time ifthe target display device is not available to display the content at theselected date and time.